SÃO PAULO, BRASILIA, Dezember 2015. Following a municipal initiative to modernize fire and emergency equipment, the São Paulo Fire Corps bought 81 new Allison-equipped fire trucks to provide increased reliability, responsiveness, maneuverability and safety to its emergency assistance fleet. The new trucks have been distributed to fire stations city-wide since delivery began in late 2014.

MAN Latin America manufactured 20 of the new vehicles, all Constellation 17.280 with 4x2 drive, extended cab and Allison 3000 SeriesTM fully automatic transmission. The trucks were customized to fit the specific institutional needs of Mitren, a company skilled at developing specialty vehicles.

The fire engines are equipped with a 1,060-gallon (4000-liter) water tank, a 750 GPM fire pump, fire hose reel, water monitor cannon and roll cargo doors, among other features. Military personnel from the Firefighters Operational Material Maintenance and Supplying Center helped define the project.

Iveco manufactured 40 170E28 model trucks, each receiving the same Mitren equipment and an Allison 3000 Series transmission. These are ideal for urban firefighting for big and small blazes, as well as water support vehicles for ladder and platform trucks. The remaining 21 trucks are Spartan models imported directly from North America – all equipped with Allison fully automatic transmissions.

Few activities demand as much from vehicles as Fire and Emergency Services. Reliability, responsiveness and maneuverability are critical when lives are on the line and every second counts. Safety is also paramount, which are just a few of the reasons Lt. Col. Wilson Lago Filho, current Fire Corps commander in the Campinas region and former chief of vehicle maintenance, calls these new automatic trucks “excellent.”

"They are extremely fast and provide all the safety needed for emergency assistance. The driver can focus fully on traffic, keeping both hands on the steering wheel at all times – without making unnecessary gear shifts,” said Lago Filho. “The lack of clutch-system wear is another great advantage, resulting in greater operational availability and vehicle longevity. We have had trucks with Allison fully automatic transmissions in our fleet since 1992, and we never had any significant problems with them."

According to Col. Marco Aurélio Alves Pinto, commander of the São Paulo Fire Corps, a Firefighting Fund was created specifically to support the purchase of modern equipment for São Paulo's firefighters – a fundamental step allowing for clear annual planning. “This way, municipal and volunteer firefighters will have access to vehicles with leading-edge technology such as these recently purchased Allison-equipped trucks," said Pinto.

For Antonio Novaes, Allison Transmission's marketing manager for South America, the contributions Allison has made in terms of technology and support for Fire and Emergency Services applications are a source of great pride." Allison is proud to provide solutions that allow emergency vehicles fitted with our fully automatic transmissions to faithfully serve São Paulo's population. In continuing to choose our transmissions, the São Paulo Fire Corps attests that our quality products deliver the reliability, maneuverability and safety these vehicles require to arrive where needed faster and ready to face life-saving challenges."